Ant-Man Joins Huge Cast of Captain America 3

Marvel Studios have officially announced that principal photography has begun on ‘Captain America: Civil War’ - and it’s hard to argue right now that it looks less like a third Cap solo movie than ‘Avengers’ 2.5.

Now shooting at the Pinewood Studios facility in Atlanta, Georgia, ‘Civil War’ sees the return of ‘Captain America: the Winter Soldier’ directors Joe and Anthony Russo - who are also set to pick up the reins from Joss Whedon on the two-part ‘Age of Ultron’ follow-up, ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’

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And it looks like this movie should prove a decent warm-up for that gargantuan two-parter. Just look at Marvel’s officially announced cast list:

“The film returns Chris Evans (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron”) as the iconic Super Hero character Steve Rogers/Captain America along with Robert Downey Jr. (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Marvel’s “Iron Man 3”) as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Sebastian Stan (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: The First Avenger”) as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Paul Bettany (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Iron Man 3”) as The Vision, Jeremy Renner (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Marvel’s “The Avengers”) as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Don Cheadle (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Iron Man 3”) as Jim Rhodes/War Machine and Elizabeth Olsen (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Godzilla”) as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch.”

But wait, we’re not done.

Paul Rudd, soon to make his Marvel debut in this summer’s ‘Ant-Man,’ is also set to join his superhero compatriots this time around. 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ co-stars Emily VanCamp and Frank Grillo will also return as Sharon Carter/Agent 13 and Brock Rumlow/Crossbones, respectively.

Perhaps most unexpectedly, William Hurt will reprise his role of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, last seen in 2008′s ‘The Incredible Hulk’ - not always looked back on as a particular highlight of the MCU.

‘Civil War’ will also see the introduction of Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther/T’Challa, Daniel Brühl in an as-yet unconfirmed role (rumoured to be Baron Zemo) and Martin Freeman in another unspecified role.

And, although Marvel make no mention of it in the press release, ‘Civil War’ is also set to see the introduction of the new Spider-Man, whose casting is yet to be announced.

Does it still seem appropriate to class this as a ‘Captain America’ solo movie? With the exception of Hulk and Thor, that’s basically all the Avengers re-assembled, let alone everyone else. We can’t help wondering just how the Russos, and returning writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, are going to be able to keep ol’ Cap front and centre in the midst of such a potential quagmire of superpowered individuals.

Perhaps a look at Marvel’s announced synopsis might help?

“Captain America: Civil War” picks up where “Avengers: Age of Ultron” left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.”

Yep - still sounds more like another Avengers movie than a Captain America solo story. Chris Evans himself recently remarked that ‘Civil War’ will “jump off into the next ‘Avengers: the Infinity Wars’. So ‘Cap 3’ is going to be kind of the setup for the real battle.”

Still - are we really complaining if the movie’s more about the whole MCU than it is about Cap? After ‘Age Of Ultron,’ surely there’s nowhere for the MCU to go but even bigger.

‘Captain America: Civil War’ is due on UK cinema screens 29 April 2016.

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Picture Credit: Marvel/Universal